
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Chaph(My Copyright No... 
Shelfj_B«?l. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



MAP OF PORTO RICO. 



IDown in povto IRtco witb 
a IRobafc 



By JAMES D. DEWEIX 



new haven 

The Record Publishing Co. 

1898 



15025 

Copyright 1S9S 

by 

James D. Dewew, 

J} 5 1 















A 



.-'*» .. 



TO MY FRIEND 

Captain David Lloyd 

OF THE STEAMSHIP ARKADIA 

IN TOKEN OF HIS MANY ACTS OF KINDNESS 

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED 



V* 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/downonportoricowOOdewe 



PREFACE 

On a recent business trip to the smallest and most 
easterly of the Greater Antilles, I took with me as a 
companion nw old friend of Greenland daj^s, an 
Eastman Kodak. A desire to conserve the views 
taken at the time in a more pleasing and permanent 
form than by photographic prints has induced the 
publication of this brief illustrated narrative of the 
Porto Rico of to-da)'-. If the perusal of this little 
souvenir volume proves half as enjoyable to my 
friends as it has to me in its preparation, I shall feel 
more than repaid for my efforts. 

J. D. D. 

June I, 1898. 



Chapter I. 

The sea is a jovial comrade, 

He laughs wherever he goes ; 
His merriment shines in the dimpling lines 

That wrinkle his hale repose ; 
He lays himself down at the foot of the sun, 

And shakes all over with glee, 
And the broad-backed billows fall faint on the shore, 

In the mirth of the mighty sea. 

— Bayard Taylor. 

POR me the ocean has charms. Once I 
*- get well off shore, away from the smell 
of the land, freed from business cares, divorced 
from the perplexities of all the petty details 
and trials of every-day life, I am happy. My 
blood flows freer, appetite is keener, diges- 
tion more perfect ; everything is peaceful and 
refreshing, and the music of the wind to my 
ear far excels the best equipped orchestra. 
The rush and surge of the mighty waters is 
soul-satisfying. Too seldom do I find time 
to indulge my passion. Such an opportunity 
did present itself, however, in January last, 



io Down in Porto Rico 

when a business engagement called me to the 
little island of Porto Rico. 

It was a cloudy afternoon followed by light 
rain in early January, 1898, when I boarded 
the steamship Arkadia, of the New York & 
Porto Rico Steamship Line, en route for Porto 
Rico. Our voyage was uneventful. We passed 
out of the lower harbor after sundown. Our 
pilot left us when abreast of the new steam 
pilot-ship, which was patroling the outer har- 
bor. This was my first experience of the 
kind. As may be well known, the piloting 
in the past has been done from regular pilot 
sailboats, but they are passing away with the 
march of improvement, and the steam pilot- 
ship is taking their place. 

The passenger list was light, which I 
learned is the usual case on the outward 
trip. The passage to Porto Rico is usually 
made via Havana ; as all of the Spanish mail 
ships make Porto Rico to and from Havana, 
and as these steamers have much better 
accommodations, travel takes that route. Our 
few passengers were interesting to a degree, 
nevertheless. Four of them were young men, 




On the Hurricane Deck at Sea, S. S. Arkadia. 



With a Kodak. 13 

Spanish Porto Ricans, three of them returning 
from a few months at school in the States, 
principally to obtain a knowledge of the 
English language. 

My first snap shot was made on the voyage 
and represents a scene on the hurricane deck. 
I give it simply because it was my first, and 
perhaps interesting to the posers. 




City of San Juan. 

The weather nearly all of the time was very 
fine indeed ; our passage was made in less than 
six days. 

The approach to the island was under the 
most favorable conditions, it being in the 
morning, with a gentle breeze, and the weather 
all that could be desired. As we passed Fort 
Morro quite a number of cameras were snapped 



H 



Down in Porto Rico 




Battlement, San Juan, Ponce de L,eon Palace in background. 



at that ancient fortress. My effort in this was 
fairly successful. 

The harbor of San Juan is the best one on 
the island and is very commodious and safe, 
being nearly land-locked. Before dropping 
anchor a snap at the city at long range 
developed a fairly good view, though not very 
distinct, owing to the great distance. 

We go through the usual formalities after 
coming to anchor, to wit : the health officer 



J J 1th a Kodak. 



15 



and custom officials put in their appearance ; 
we were also visited by the agents of the 
steamship line and the United States Consul, 
Hon. Philip C. Hanna. 







iiiil 



, ■■■. ■ :i 




Governor General's Palace, San Juan. 

The first business in order after going 
ashore was to visit the money changers, where 
I received $85 Porto Rico money for $50 
American. Also, it is quite necessary to 
secure a change of clothing. Leaving the 



1 6 Down in Porto Rico 

States in the winter, naturally my clothing 
was too warm and burdensome for a tropical 
climate. 

After getting the necessaries we must find 
a good hostelry. The principal and only 
fair hotel in San Juan is the " Inglaterra," of 
which it has been well said, " There is noth- 
ing English about it but its name." No one 
in the house speaks English ; not even the 
clerk of the hotel can understand a word, and 
as I could talk no Spanish it was not very 
easy getting on. 







.' *.* ■ 




Chapter II. 

North of the Sea of the Caribbee, 

And laved in the tropical flood, 
Floats a beautiful isle in Moorish style, 

But blighted, alas, by Spanish blood. 

jDBFORB proceeding with the account of 
A ^ my sight-seeing, a brief description of 
the island may be appropriate. Porto Rico, 
one of the Spanish West India islands, lies 
70 miles east of Hayti in about 18 ° north 
latitude and 66° west longitude. It forms an 
irregular parallelogram about one hundred 
miles long and forty broad, and has an area of 
something over 3,500 square miles, or about 
three-quarters the size of Connecticut. 

From east to west it is traversed by a range 
of hills, so situated that the streams flowing 
northward are much longer than those flowing 
southward. The highest district and the 
highest peak is Bl Yunque, 3,600 feet high, 
situated in the Sierra d'L-oquila range near the 
northeast corner. 



20 



Dozen in Porto Rico 



As the hills intercept the northeast trade 
winds with their rain-clouds, there is some- 
times almost a superabundance of moisture in 
the northern lowlands, whereas in the south 




The Plaza, San Juan. 



severe droughts occur and the land demands 
artificial irrigation, which is carried out with 
considerable enterprise in the vicinity of 
Ponce among the sugar estates. 

The island is, however, reasonably well 
watered, many hundred streams being enumer- 



With a Kodak. 



21 



ated, of which more than forty are consider- 
able rivers, and its general appearance is very 
beautiful. A description of the interior will 
be given, following this, from observations 
made while taking a carriage drive from San 
Juan to Ponce (pronounced Ponsy). 

Forests still cover all the higher parts of 
the hills, and the view to the traveler from 
the higher eminences is very pleasing to the 
eye. As one looks down into the valleys he 
is reminded of some sections of our own New 





Wharf scene, San Juan. 



Down in Porto Rico 




S. S. Arkadia in the harbor of San Juan. 



England, so far as landscape is considered. 
All else is quite different. The rude houses 
in the distance are simply thatches on poles. 
The better class of the inhabitants live in ' the 
villages or cities. 

The two great staples of the island are 
sugar and coffee, though tobacco is fast becom- 
ing prominent as an article of commerce. 



With a Kodak. 23 

Besides the three articles named, there are 
grown on the island cotton, rice, corn, bananas 
and plantains, as well as oranges, cocoanuts 
and other tropical fruits. The rice (which is 
one of the chief foods of all classes ) is a moun- 
tain variety, grown without flooding. However, 
so general is its use that much more is imported 



Spanish War Ship Concha in harbor of San Juan. 

than is home-grown. On the lowland pastures 
large herds of excellent cattle are reared for 
home use and for export to nearby islands. 
During the insurrection in Cuba large num- 
bers were sent to that island, hence the trou- 
bles there have proved a benefit to Porto Rico. 
In general, Porto Rico may be described as 
extremely fertile and its exports more than 



24 



Dozen in Porto Rico 



double in value those of Jamaica, which island 
is about the same size as Porto Rico. 

Formerly the tobacco was largely sent to 
Havana to be manufactured into cigars, as the 
Porto Ricans have not yet developed the 




Harbor of San Juan. 
Group of boats alongside S. S. Arkadia. 



proper knowledge of either the growing of 
the best stock or of manufacturing the better 
grade of cigars. However, at the time of my 
visit the exportation to Havana had been pro- 
hibited, for what reason the Porto Ricans 
could not explain, but the supposition was 



With a Kodak. 



25 




A Street in San Juan. Ancient Chapel in background. 



that Governor Blanco wished to hold np the 
price of the Cuban product, which the importa- 
tion from Porto Rico would lower. 

The great need of the island is good roads 
and bridges, although the Government has 
done something in that line in recent years. 
With the exception of the Government road 
from the capital to Ponce (about 80 miles), 
most of the roads can be used only by ox 
teams or for horseback riding. 



26 Dozen in Porto Rico 

Gold, iron, copper, coal and salt are all 
found in Porto Rico, but the last alone is 
worked. 

The island, which has been a possession of 




Ancient Chapel, San Juan, side view. 

Spain from its first discovery, was declared a 
province in 1870. It is divided into seven 
departments : Bayamon, near the northeast 
end of the island (containing the capital, San 
Juan Bautista and Toa-Alta, Toa-Baja, Naran- 
jito, Vega-Alta, etc.); Arecibo (Arecibo, Hat- 




A Street in San Juan. 



With a Kodak. 



29 



illo Camuy, Quebradillas, etc.) ; Aguadilla 



Moca, 



Aguada 



Lares 



or 



San 



(Aguadilla, 

Sebastian) ; Mayaguez (Mayaguez, Anaico, 

San German) ; Ponce (Ponce, Guayanilla, 




U. S. Consul Hanna and Wife, San Juan. 
On the balcony of the Consulate. 



Pennelas, Coamo) ; Humacao (Humacao, 
Naguabo, Luquillo) ; Guayama (Hato-Grande, 
Gurabo, etc.) ; and the island of Viequez (with 
the town of Isabel Sequnda) is attached as an 



3° 



Down in Porto Rico 



eighth department and used as a military 
penal station. 

The population at the present time is esti- 
mated at one million, though probably not 



_^£*V-.. 






Section of Park showing grass thirty days from seeding, San Juan. 

more than 900,000. There is still plenty of 
room for further expansion. 

Among the people of European origin there 
are Spaniards, Germans, Swedes, Danes, Rus- 
sians, Frenchmen, Chuetas or descendants of 



With a Kodak. 



3i 



Moorish Jews from Majorca, and natives of 
the Canary Islands. There are also a few 
Chinese. 

The Gibaros, or small land-holders and day- 
laborers of the country districts, are a curious 
old Spanish stock modified by Indian blood. 




Caye)*. 



Chapter III. 

CAN JUAN BAUTISTA, or St. John's, 
^ the capital, lies in about iS° north lati- 
tude on the north coast, on a small island, 
connected with the main land b}^ bridges. 
Before the days of modern warships it was 




Cemetery, Cavev 



considered a place of great strength and was 
one of the principal walled cities of the West 
Indies. 

The illustration, " A section of the city 
wall," will give an impression of its defences 



With a Kodak. 



33 




A Wayside Inn between San Juan and Ponce. 



from trie land side. At the time of my visit a 
portion of this old wall was being torn down 
and from the grading a small park was 
created. To show the great fertility of the 
soil a view is shown of the little park with the 
grass thirty days from seeding. 

In the old fort of Santa Catilina there is yet 
standing a palace erected by Ponce de Leon in 



34 Down in Porto Rico 

the early part of trie sixteenth century, a cut 
of which is shown. The harbor, as previously 
explained, is one of the best in the West 
Indies, having a comparatively unobstructed 
entrance and along the wharves a depth at low 
water of ten to thirteen feet. 




A halt in the Mountains between San Juan and Ponce. 

Like most Spanish cities, the streets of San 
Juan are narrow. The over-hanging balconies 
from the houses on every side are prominent. 
In many streets the paving is of brick. 

Some of the buildings have modern plumb- 
ing, furnished by water-works, but the system 
of sewage is in its infancy. 



Witli a Kodak. 35 

As a part of the ancient city wall forti- 
fication I succeeded in getting a good view 
of the old chapel near the United States 
Consulate. The chapel is yet used for its 





Improved Highway. 

original purpose. The building is quite small, 
as the view will show. The communicants who 
visit it for mass have to mass themselves in 
the streets and take their turn as they may. 



Down in Porto Rico 




Average roadway not improved. 



A second view of this edifice is a front view 
showing the chapel in the background. It 
also represents one of the principal streets. 

It was my good fortune, and pleasure as 
well, to meet United States Consul Hanna and 
wife at the Consulate, which is a small build- 
ing at the end of the street adjoining the 
chapel. In this building the British Consulate 
have the ground floor and the United States 
the floor above. 



With a Kodak. 



37 



I succeeded in obtaining a good picture of 
Mr. and Mrs. Hanna on the balcony of the 
Consulate by gaining admission to the house 




Tropical Scenery. 

on the opposite side, the street being so nar- 
row that a range could not be obtained from 
the pavement. 

Soon after my departure from the island 
Consul Hanna was obliged to temporarily 
vacate his post, and he with his wife and 
clerk took passage for St. Thomas, where he 



33 



Dozen in Porto Rico 



is at the present time awaiting orders from 
the Government pending the solution of the 
present war. A letter recently received from 
Mrs. Hanna states that the}^ expect to go 
back very soon. 

I was quite pleased with my brief visit to 
this pleasant little city and took quite a 
number of views, some of which will appear 
later on in my diary. 

One which is of interest at this time is the 




A Coffee Field. 



With a Kodak. 



39 



Spanish warship Concha. This ship was 
doing patrol duty around the island. The 
view was taken from the deck of the steamship 
Arkadia, thereby giving another outline of the 
city and the business front. 




An Improved Highway. 



While on shore I also got a view of our own 
steamship Arkadia at anchor, showing as well 
the harbor looking westward. 

Like nearty all the ports in the West Indies, 
the foreign shipping is despatched and re- 



4o 



Dozen in Porto Rico 



ceived from vessels lying in the stream at 
anchor, but there is a good wharf at San Juan 
for smaller vessels, a view of which is shown. 

The Governor General's palace of Ponce de 
Leon is now used \>y the Government for other 




An Improved Highway. 



purposes and a newer and more modern build- 
ing for that purpose is now in use, as shown 
in the illustration. 

At the time of my visit the office was 
vacant, but a new Governor General was 
momentarily expected and he arrived a few 
days after my departure. 



With a Kodak. 41 

111 a very pretty square there is a Columbus 
monument, erected in 1892. Like all Spanish 
cities, San Juan has a plaza, but it is unin- 
teresting, there being no fountain or flowers 
— simply a square with conveniences for rest 




Columbus Monument, San Juan. 

in the way of settees and chairs. The plaza 
is surrounded by prominent buildings, one of 
which is shown herewith. It is used as a 
post-office and for other Government purposes. 
The streets, as before mentioned, are quite 
neat and some of them unusually pretty. A 
sample view is given. 



Chapter IV. 

~^HB capital, San Juan, was the first prin- 

cipal occupation of the island and has 

been since the principal point of attack in all 

of the wars and invasions of the past. In 




Improved Highway winding through the Mountains. 

1595 it was sacked by Drake, and in 1598 
by the Duke of Cumberland. 



With a Kodak. 



43 



In 1615 Hendrick, a Dutchman, lost his life 
in an attack on the Castle Del Mono. The 
attempt of the English in 1678 was equally 
unsuccessful, and Abercrombie in 1797 made 




Section of Improved Highway. 



a landing east of the city and attempted to 
subdue it from the land side. 

He was defeated at the eastern extremity 
of the old city wall and had to retire after a 
three days' siege. Had he been successful 



44 Down in Porto Rico 

and the island brought under the sway of the 
Anglo-Saxon, what a garden it might be at 
this time ! In conversation with residents in 




Landscape between Caguas and Cave}-. 

both San Juan and Ponce, many seemed to 
regret that Abercrombie had not succeeded. 

One cannot view the vast system of fortifi- 
cations and walls without thinking of the 
human agony and misery which was forced to 
create it all. All through the centuries that 



J J 1th a Kodak. 



45 



these fortifications were being erected it was 
under Spanish rule and with slavery at its 
worst. 

Slavery was not abolished until 1873, and 




A Roadside Dream. 



most of the laboring classes, both negroes and 
mixed blood, were slaves up to that time. 
This island has always been the pet of the 
home Government. It is free from debt, and. 



46 



Dozen in Porto Rico 



being too small for an insurrection to gain 
much force, it has usually been peaceful and 
quiet. 

The fertility of the soil is such that large 




Landscape between Cayey and Aibonito 




exports of their leading crops have enabled 
the people to import what was necessary for 
their comfort and happiness to a greater 
degree than in Cuba. 



With a Kodak. 47 

On the day following our arrival I started 
before daybreak in the rain to drive over that 
great pride of the people, the improved high- 
way from the capital to Ponce, a distance of 
eighty miles. The road is macadam, built 




River bed, Rio Portuguese, near Ponce. 

with trap rock, and is a splendid feat of 
engineering in the way it winds through 
the mountains, passing through Rio Piedras 
Guaynabo, Aguas Buenos, Caguas, Cayey, 
Aibonito, Coamo and Juan Diaz. The scenes 
is charming throughout the whole distance. 



4 8 



Down in Porto Rico 



^^^•IrV 'fll- '1IU&* 




•\,*^» , ■■■■■■ JE 9IO& *s5j 
---■■ *•'■■■'■ 


" - " .. > 



Mineral Spring Bathing Establishment in outskirts of Ponce. 



Two landscape views were taken which will 
give an idea of the lofty mountains and also 
the tropical side of it. The entire distance is 
made in thirteen hours. 

There is a coach with the mails which can 
be taken, but the more common method and 
the one I adopted is to engage a driver with 
a span of horses, which are of native breed 
and about half the size of our ordinary horses 
in the States. They are wonderful little 



With a Kodak. 



49 



animals to climb the hills and also are fleet of 
foot. The drivers, however, abuse them un- 
mercifully and beat them nearly the whole 
distance. 

We changed five times on the trip, which 
takes about two hours ; hence the passage is 
really but eleven hours, or an average speed 
of something over seven miles an hour. 

At frequent intervals along the way are 
small stations, at each of which there is a 




Market View, Ponce. 



50 Dozvn in Porto Rico 

building which may be termed a combination 
of grocery store and wayside inn. The nsual 
loungers are found at all such places, and 
they are an uncouth, disagreeable set. Around 
these stopping places the filth is beyond de- 




The Market Place, Ponce. 

scription. A fair type of this sort of highway 
tavern is given. 

There are exceptions here and there to such 
miserable, dirty places, one of which was at a 
halt in the mountains, where a woman dis- 



With a Kodak. 



5i 



pensed food and light drinks to travelers. 
This place is reached after a weary ride up a 
very long incline and is a convenient and 
pleasant spot to rest the horses. 




The Market, Ponce. 



Cayey is a pretty inland city, about half way 
between the capital and Ponce. Here we 
stopped for dinner, and a good one it proved, 
at a reasonable price, $1.00 Porto Rican, equal 
to sixty cents American. Here a fellow- 



52 



Dozen in Porto Rico 




A Street Corner, Ponce. 



traveler, who was also a passenger with me 
on the steamer and who had been studying 
medicine in Philadelphia, bade me good-bye, 
his route diverging to Arroyo, his old home. 
The road from now on was through charming 
scenery ; the turns and winds through the 
mountains were something wonderful. The 
view from every point of observation disclosed 
tobacco fields, coffee and banana groves, all 
varieties of the palm, including the cocoanut, 



With a Kodak. 



53 



the lowlands covered with sugar cane or filled 
with large herds of cattle, the road on either 
side rich with all forms of tropical growth. 
The slopes of the mountains remind one 
somewhat of Switzerland in summer. At 




Residence of the German Consul, Mr. Fritze, Ponce. 



Aibonito we gave our little horses a needed 
rest. At this place there is a beautiful cathe- 
dral which I attempted to capture in my 
camera, but without success. At Coamo 
another change of horses. The raising of 
tobacco in this locality is quite prominent. 
While waiting here I found an old wizened-up 



54 



Dozen in Porto Rico 




Fire Department, Ponce. 



St. Croix man who could speak English. He 
was greatly astonished to find that I was but 
two years older than himself and talked in 
Spanish much about it to bystanders. The 
old rat, he certainly looked aged enough for 
my grandfather. With fresh horses we fairly 
flew down the mountain, the same beautiful 
scenery all along the route. We changed 
teams once more in the country and it was a 
poor exchange, the horses being all fagged out 



With a Kodak. 



57 



b}? the time we reached Juana Diaz. Our last 
five miles was made under the whip. The 
cruelty of these drivers is something terrible 
and would not be permitted outside of Spanish 




The Plaza, Ponce. 



dominions. I arrived in Ponce at 7 p. m., and 
put up at the Hotel Franc ais, kept by one 
Juan Bettolacci and wife. She speaks broken 
Bnglish and was quite a help to me from my 
first entrance. The distance driven that day 



58 Down in Porto Rico 

was eighty miles with five chauges of horses. 
How I wish the opponents of good highways 
had been with me to see the wonderful pike 




The Plaza, Ponce. 



over which I came ! This highway is certainly 
the best piece of road I have ever driven on 
and is kept in perfect repair by a most 
thorough system. 



Chapter V. 

pONCE lies about three miles inland from 
A the south coast. It is not as handsome 
a city as the capital. Its public buildings are 
frequently of brick, stone or stucco, but many 
of the private houses are of wood. It is 
lighted by gas, and at the time of my visit an 
American company was about to erect an 
electric lighting plant. 

The few days I spent in Ponce were 
replete with enjoyment. The first to engage 
my attention was La Play a (the bay), which is 
about three miles from the city proper and is 
a small city in itself. Notwithstanding a poor 
harbor, the business done from this port is 
large and increasing. The principal business 
houses export sugar, molasses, coffee and 
tobacco, and import flour, lumber, provisions, 
coal, etc. The exports of coffee by one firm, in 
the year 1897, were three millions of dollars. 
The harbor is, as before remarked, a poor one, 
without wharves. All vessels, steam and sail, 



6o 



Dozen in Porto Rico 



are obliged to take in and discharge cargo while 
at anchor through lighters. I took in twice a 
famous drive from Ponce northerly in the 




Cathedral, Ponce. 



direction of Adjuntas, where for nine miles the 
road is improved and is fully equal to the 
great highway from the capital to Ponce. 
Along this highway one witnesses the same 
charming scenery and tropical foliage as on 



With a Kodak. 



61 



the longer drive from San Jnan to Ponce, with 
a better class of houses. The latter on the 
long drive are not to be considered as houses 
outside of the villages, but are simply thatch 




Cemeter}', Ponce. 



roofs supported by poles and entirely open on 
all sides. 

While the city is small, yet I did not tire 
in the days spent there going through its 
quaint and narrow streets, visiting the market 
early in the morning, riding the outskirts to a 



Down in Porto Rico 



famous mineral bath, where the bather utilizes 
a quaint stone bath tub. The water is blood 
warm and pumped by a windmill. (Had 
Ponce de Leon known of this delicious spring 




Opera House, Ponce. 



he need not have gone to Florida in search of 
the fountain of youth.) 

Visiting plaza, cathedral, cemetery, making 
business and social calls, etc., — every day filled 
with golden hours of blissful rest. As I pen 
these fragments in re Porto Rico my thoughts 



With a Kodak. 63 

dwell lovingly on this fair daughter of the 
Caribbee, and my optimistic nature is nursing 
a hope that her future may be made radiant 
and glorious under some new dispensation as 




Commercial Street, Ponce. 

a recompense for past sufferings under unjust 
and cruel misrule. 

My correspondent at Ponce, Mr. Hugo C. 
Fritze, gave me a rare treat one day in a ride 
to the well-known Mercedita sugar estate. 
This plantation is one of the most promi- 



6 4 



Dozen i)i Porto Rico 



nent on the island, embracing about 4,000 
acres, employing 1,800 persons, and entirely 
devoted to the cultivation of sugar-cane. I 
was fortunate in getting a few good views here, 




Centrifugal Sugar Factorv, Mercedita Estate, near Ponce. 



but could not get an interior of the sugar fac- 
tory, which I hope someone later on will 
attempt. The sugar turned out at the Mer- 
cedita is of the highest grade of centrifugal. 
The residuum, or low grade molasses, which 



With a Kodak. 65 

comes from this process is too poor to export, 
in fact it would have no market value in the 
States, but is utilized here by distilling it into 
what is called " nigger rum, " being very low 




• -;- ■ 



Dove House at Sugar Factory, near Ponce. 

grade and sold at a correspondingly low price. 
It might be said at this time that notwith- 
standing the cheapness of rum and the fact 
that those who sell it pay but a small license, 
I did not see a drunken person in the ten 



66 Down in Porto Rico 

days which I remained on the island. I was 
told, however, that at the holiday period 
between Christmas and New Year's there was 
much drunkenness among the common people. 




Hauling Sugar Cane, Mercedita Estate, near Ponce. 

I also visited the Laurel sugar factory, where 
Muscovada sugar is made. The molasses from 
this sugar is the celebrated Fancy Ponce, 
nearly all of which is shipped from this fac- 
tor}^ to New Haven. While the producing of 
sugar and other products of the island is in 



With a Kodak. 



67 



the hands of Spaniards, or Porto Ricans, yet 
the large commercial transactions, such as the 




Muscovada Sugar Factor}-, "The Laurel," near Ponce. 



handling of the crops for export, is mostly done 
by foreigners. 

I took a most delightful ride with a Mr. 
Santori, a Frenchman, but who speaks English 



68 Down in Porto Rico 

fluently. His vehicle was a New Haven 
phaeton, made by Demarest. He told me that 
the duty on that carriage was over $200. All 




On the road, Ponce to La Playa. 

articles imported from other countries other 
than Spain, whether a necessity or a luxury, 
are subject to heavy duties, and that a people 
can show a comparative prosperity under such 
a burden of taxation speaks volumes for the 










'fv 



With a Kodak, 



7i 



future possibilities of this snug little island 
under another flag than Spain's. And if it ever 
comes to pass that the Anglo-Saxon should 




Street at the Bay, Ponce. 



come into control it might become a veritable 
paradise. 

One thing very noticeable in the foliage of 
nearly every tree is that there are no dead 
leaves. When a leaf has reached its maturity 
and done its full duty, it is simply pushed off 



Down in Porto Rico 




La Plava, Ponce, S. S. .^srkadia in the background. 



by the new bud, remaining green until it falls. 
Nearly every, vegetable known to civilization 
can be raised here. I visited a small grist- 
mill where native corn was being ground, and 
a most excellent article of meal was the 
product. Upland rice grows thriftily, Irish 
potatoes, white beans and red are grown 
without trouble. The fruit is most delicious, 



K 




■ i ■ 



" 






With a Kodak. 



75 




Coopering Molasses for Shipment, La Playa, Ponce. 



especially the banana and orange. The 
former is one of the principal articles of food, 
being cooked in the green state as well as 
eaten ripe, and the quantity which can be 
grown is beyond computation. I do not be- 
lieve it to be possible, should this island be 
cut off from all communication with the 
outside world, that the inhabitants could be 
starved out, as they have all the food at their 
own doors necessary to sustain life. I at- 



76 Dozen in Porto Rico 

tempted, without success, a view of a famous 
tree in the outskirts of Ponce, of the variety 
called Savior. This tree has probably fifty 
small trunks surrounding the main body, all 
formed by the branches growing downward 
and catching hold of the soil, and thus form- 
ing a new root. This tree is said to be older 
than the discovery of the island by Columbus. 
Its position by the roadside and on the banks 
of the river Rio Portugues, which we forded, 
makes it an attractive object. Though I 
missed in my snap at this wonderful native at 
short range, I caught it at another time when 
taking the river-bed, and it will be noticed on 
a small scale in that cut in the background. 



O 





Chapter VI. 

THE common people of Porto Rico, which 
means the blacks and mixed races, are 
as a rnle docile and honest. They work faith- 
fully though not rapidly. Their wants are 
few, and it is well that they can live on a small 
income, as the pay of the common laborer is 
but about twenty to twenty-five dollars (Porto 
Rico) per month and board themselves. Under 
a better form of government they could enjoy 
more privileges, especially one that is now 
practically denied them, that is, education and 
the benefits of religion. I was informed by a 
gentleman on the island, who is a large 
commission merchant, that the Church until 
quite recently has paid but small attention to 
the poor. Until a comparatively recent period 
the marriage rite among this class has not 
been regarded. The people have been too poor 
to secure a priest, whether for marriage or 
death, but following the abolition of slavery in 
1873, the government at Madrid has sane- 



So Down in Porto Rico 

tioned marriage by an officer of the law. This 
became necessary, as no matter how poor the 
people are, occasionally there may be one in a 
community who will accumulate property, 
hence his children must be legitimatized for 
legal inheritance. My informant and his 
wife, whom I had the pleasure of meeting at a 
Spanish breakfast, spoke with great regret of 
the past and the present condition of the poor, 
but they were optimistic in their views and 
had great hopes that in the future more atten- 
tion would be paid to this class. In the 
interior of the island, that is to say, outside of 
the cities, the illiteracy is claimed to be ninety- 
seven per cent. It speaks well for a people 
who for centuries have been degraded by 
slavery and denied the ordinary privileges of 
civilization, that they are as good as they are. 
If the Anglo-Saxon could have sway for a 
generation or two on this island, what a won- 
derful change would come over it ! In the 
cities the better class follow in close imitation 
the Spanish customs as regards social life, 
religion and mode of living. Sunday afternoon 
is the holiday of the week, as all business 



With a Kodak. 



houses keep open during Sunday forenoon. 
Sunday evening the people gather in the 
Plaza and exchange courtesies ; the ladies flirt 





A Boat Landing, Ponce. 

their fans and gossip, while the government 
band plays until ten o'clock. 

The bicycle is there and many of the Span- 
iards are enthusiastic riders, but the women 
do not use the wheel. Spanish exclusion for 
the fair sex holds sway here as in other Span- 
ish countries. I suspect, however, that if the 



82 Dozen in Porto Rico 

female tourist should ever come into the island 
in force, that the Spanish girls would be 
attempting to ride on the sly. A few years 
ago a French syndicate entered into a contract 
to build, a narrow-gauge railroad around the 
island, touching at all of the various ports. 
It was but partially built, a few sections only, 
when the syndicate failed and in derision the 
people call it the " Petite Panama." I saw no 
tourists during my stay and I understood that 
very few visit the island. Should they ever 
invade it, new hotels with more modern appli- 
ances than are now in existence would become 
necessary. All this will come whenever an 
improvement is made in the administration of 
affairs. 



Chapter VII. 

|p HE population of the island is quite 
dense, there being probably 200,000 in 
cities and 700,000 in the country. From 
general information I believe ' there are fewer 
paupers and criminals on the island than 
in New Haven County alone, but I have 
no statistics to prove it. I was informed by 
all with whom I spoke on the subject that 
the entire island was quite free from crime 
and that one could ride by night or day all 
over the island without fear of molestation. 
I had supposed before my visit that the 
majority of the people were black, but from 
my observation I was led to the conclusion 
that the proportion of blacks is not more 
than one-fourth, with perhaps one-fourth 
Spanish or direct descendants. The other 
half are mixed, and such a mixture ! There 
yet remains the blood of the old original 
Indian stock. Ponce de Leon and his succes- 
sors did not exterminate all. This native 



84 Dozen in Porto Rico 

stock has largely become mixed with the 
negroes and the Spanish and other nationali- 
ties. Many that are called mulattoes or 
mixed seem to be as white as those who pose 
as Spaniards. The descendants of the Indian 
stock are the better class of laborers. They 
have thin lips and thin noses and are consid- 
ered the best farmers, always seeming kind to 
one another and making an effort to do the 
best they know how in all things. The in- 
telligent classes all seemed proud of their 
island home, but mourned over the injustice 
of the mother country in her unjust laws for 
the government of the people, excessive taxa- 
tion and the unsettled state of the currency. 
Considerable talk was indulged in as to auton- 
omy, which was to be voted on the month fol- 
lowing my visit. The people mostly were 
favorable towards it, but were opposed to some 
features, especially where Spain is to keep a 
standing army and have the appointment of 
all the higher officials. 

The condition of the currency was most 
deplorable. The fluctuations were constant 
and always for the benefit of the wealthy or 



With a Kodak. 87 

the forehanded. The poor man's wages were 
fixed. The advance in the gold preminm 
simply compelled him to pay more for the 
necessaries of life without any corresponding 
increase in his pay, which under like conditions 
are the same the world over. The day I 
arrived at the capital I sold my American gold 
for 70 premium. A few days later it was at 
73. I left Ponce via steamer on January 24th, 
with regret, and arrived at Mayaguez on 
Tuesday, January 25th. 

Mayaguez on the west coast is a»lso situated 
several miles inland and is separated from its 
port by a river. An iron bridge was con- 
structed, however, about 1875. This town has 
military barracks, clubs and gas works. The 
harbor, accessible only to vessels drawing less 
than sixteen feet, is silting up, as indeed 
is the case with almost all the harbors of 
Porto Rico. I here received many courtesies 
from the hands of the United States Consular 
Agent, Mr. Badreni, and his clerk, a young 
man by the name of Drake, an American. 
In company with others I rode from the city 
far into the outskirts. I took some very inter- 



88 Dozen in Porto Rico 

esting snaps with my camera, one of which I 
present under the title of " A Porto Rico 
Cupid, " not because it is unusual, but because 
it is the custom of nearly all of the small boys 
and of many girls, too, among the poor, not 




A Street Scene, Mavaeuez. Pisr in the basket. 



only in the country but in the outskirts of the 
cities, to roam through the streets without 
clothing. He was a noble little fellow and 
seemed to have no black blood in him, his 
hair being blonde and his form fit for a sculp- 
tor's model. After making business calls I 
cleared with the steamer once more for the 



With a Kodak. 89 

capital, where we arrived on the morning of 
January 26th. We spent the day here, clearing 
in the evening for New York. Our voyage on 
the return was very tempestuous and we were 
over nine days in making it, passing through 
the latter part of it in a gale with quite a 
blizzard, and although the experience was 
disagreeable in the extreme, yet I felt satisfied 
withal, having all my life been desirous of 
witnessing just what we passed through. 



Chapter VIII. 

TT AVING commenced my narrative in a 

somewhat rapturous mood, over love for 

the ocean, I will close by extracts from my 

diary, showing how the old monarch paid me 

back in bad coin. 

Jan. 29th. Three days after leaving San 
Juan the weather became cooler, air and water 
both 68°. Heavy sea. Ship rolling. Ba- 
rometer falling. It would seem that we are 
on the edge of a gale. Captain Lloyd does 
not like the look ahead. The ship's carpen- 
ter, who is like many other sailors of the 
superstitious sort, claims to have experienced 
when at the island a bad dream in which he 
saw a horse standing over him, by which sign 
he feared the return voyage would be fraught 
with trouble, as he never yet dreamed of a 
horse but bad weather or disaster followed. 
Ship making little headway and the passage 
destined to be a long one unless better condi- 
tions soon prevail. 



With a Kodak. 



9i 



Jan. 30th. Rough sea. Ship rolling heav- 
ily. A very bad day. According to the cap- 




street Scene, Mayaguez. Cupid. 



tain's log we are in a gale. Air 6o°, water 
68° temperature. 



92 Dozen in Porto Rico 

Jan. 31st. Monday. Rain and high wind, 
from sou'east to nor'west. Very rough sea. 
Air and water both 63 ° temperature. No 
observation. By dead reckoning latitude 
33.22, longitude 70.46. The captain has asked 
the carpenter to rope his horse and throw him 
overboard, else we would be obliged to do as 
was done with Jonah. He answered " If I 
were as good a man as Jonah I would be willing 
to be thrown into the water. " This day long 
to be remembered, all through the hours from 
sunrise to sunset a fearful gale. Old ocean 
ran wild. As far as the eye could reach water 
mountains rose higher and higher. When at 
the limit the mighty wind would cut their 
topmost crests and great sheets of water 
scattered like chaff. Now and then the sun 
would emerge from the clouds to witness the 
great struggle and seemed to look with a 
kindly pity on our little ship, a mere speck 
amid the raging conflict. Following these 
great and ever-increasing waves would come a 
sudden rainfall, always preceded by a short 
increased wind force, reminding one of the 
land when a thunder storm comes up suddenly. 



With a Kodak. 



93 



After the rain the waves are smoother but the 
swell of the ocean increases, on which the ship 
dances like a cork. This is followed by the 
waves again breaking out, the wind increases 





The Pilot leaves us, Mayaguez. 



and if at first it whistled, now it roars and bel- 
lows and shrieks. The waves answer back, 
'You cannot blow down that little object, for 
in vain have you tried, but we will engulf it." 
Now comes a trial of Nature's forces with the 
art of man. Over and over and again our 



94 Down in Porto Rico 

good ship is driven to the summit of the 
highest peaks from which the eye can survey 
other mountains, with great and awful canons 
reaching between, on which apex she stalks 
like a deer at bay, and with a mighty, almost 
superhuman effort, crushes down the barrier, 
the breaking waves vying for supremacy, 
until with a shiver at every bolt she drops into 
the valley below, rolling and writhing like a 
wounded human soul, only to commence the 
ascent of other heights more terrible and more 
disheartening. All through the daylight this 
conflict goes on. Will its termination be 
witnessed by this little company, is a thought 
which passes through my mind frequently. 
Will the setting sun leave us his blessing and 
the moon drive away the mighty disturbance 
round about us ? We are not given time to 
even hope for the best, for as night settles on 
the angry giant he surged and raved like 
unto the curses of hell's unnumbered fiends. 
Owing to the continuance of the gale in early 
night the captain changed the ship's course 
four points east and put the engine to half 
speed, — this in the hope that the gale might 



With a Kodak. 95 

subside by morning. What will that morning 
be ? Certain it will find us many miles from 
our course. 

Feb. 1 st. The weather was cold and with 
a continuance of the gale, somewhat lessened, 



New York Harbor after passing Quarantine Feb. 4, 1898. 

but severe enough. By observation this day 
we had made but ninety miles in the twenty- 
four hours. We are all a bit discouraged, both 
passengers and crew. The captain cheers us 
up by saying that there is plenty of coal and 
provisions. The carpenter reports that we are 



g 6 Down in Porto Rico 

clear of the fore-legs of the dream-horse but 
the hind legs are yet in the path. This night 
was bad enough. With the ship wave-washed 
and gasping in her mighty struggle a fog set 
in, necessitating blowing the whistle. The 
blowing of a fog whistle for hours in the night 
during a violent gale in winter on the North 
Atlantic, four hundred miles from the nearest 
coast, is a mighty nerve-disturber. I did not 
sleep well. 

Wednesday, Feb. 2d. The force of the gale 
has spent its fury, but the water is far from 
smooth. 

Feb. '3d. A glorious day. Sun shines. 
Wind moderating. Air and water very cold. 
Captain informs us that we are but 102 miles 
from Sandy Hook and expects to land us Fri- 
day morning, at which there is great rejoicing 
by the young Porto Rican passengers, and as 
we gaily sail along, the vista of the carpenter's 
horse floats silently down the dark blue waters 
of the gulf stream. The captain resumes his 
old-time smile, the two mates lose their tired 
look, the purser, now that he finds a steady 
table to complete his manifest, is happy, the 



With a Kodak. 97 

stewardess has given an extra smooth to my 
stateroom and in fact, I may say, the goose 
hangs high. At five p. m., last dinner aboard 
ship, eating of which was a pleasure by reason 

\ of the qniet sea. At eleven A, m. we drop 
\ anchor at quarantine. 

vjeb. 4th. I take my last snap shots. The 
proof of one represents the lower harbor of 
New York after passing quarantine. Floating 
ice was quite a wonderful sight to a young 

^N^ Porto Rican bride, who had never been outside 
of the tropics before. 



APPENDIX. 

A few days after my return from Porto 
Rico the strained relations previously existing 
between the United States and Spain became 
more intense by reason of the blowing up of 
the U. S. Man of War Maine, in the harbor 
of Havana, Feb. 15th. April 20th, President 
McKinley sent his ultimatum to Spain ; war 
preparations now began with vigor. The first 
great naval victory of Admiral Dewey at 
Manila, May 1st, set the country ablaze with 
excitement and then came short and success- 
ful campaigns in Cuba and Porto Rico, fol- 
lowed soon after by peace, Spain having 
accepted the demands of President McKinley, 
August 10th, by which she agrees to cede the 
island of Porto Rico to the United States. 
All praise and honor to President McKinley, 
the Army and the Navy ; felicitations to our 
new-found sister of the Antilles. I predict a 
great and glorious future for this southern 
star. The little red school-house can now be 



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